


Your Song

by Sydders09



Category: Jackie & Ryan (2014)
Genre: F/M, Kissing Prompt, Tentative Kiss, Train Hopping, Train Ride, drifters, night train, request, train, train car
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-22 19:11:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19975984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sydders09/pseuds/Sydders09
Summary: You meet Ryan by chance and everything is history.





	Your Song

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from Tumblr for the '50 Types of Kisses' prompt. The prompt I got was: 'tentative kisses given in the dark.'

You stare out of the train car watching the nightscape zoom by. Your feet dangle out the side where the door is opened to the night air. It’s chilly and smells clean despite the train. A box of animal crackers sits open beside you, your cold fingers occasionally grabbing for one. Those cookies always make traveling better, something that didn’t change from your younger years.

Quiet music eases its way through the storage car from somewhere in the dark. You know it well, humming it to yourself often though it’s not as pretty from your mouth. The sound of the guitar soothes you to your core, played by someone you met by chance in the life of never staying in one place too long. A life without a home some would say. It was something you never minded until you came across Ryan Brenner.

It was stupid really why you found yourself on the neverending road to nowhere. You were running again. Guilt and the desire to move ate away at you the longer you stayed with your sister and her husband. They were always too kind to you and never once complained while you were around. You couldn’t take it anymore. You left in the middle of a night with a note to your sister with a promise to visit if you ever made it back to town and an apology.

That was when you found yourself hitchhiking on the outskirts of town to get as far as anyone would take you.

The sweetest gentleman pulled up in his pickup truck and had you hope in the back where he already had a few other hitchhikers. That truck bed was where you met Ryan.

He was on his way out of a town he spent a long time in – the reason being a woman you learned later on. He said it didn’t end badly, but it bothered him all the same. Before you knew why he left, you saw the turmoil in his dark eyes. A war raged there. One side sought home and the other sought freedom. A feeling you knew all too well.

Chance kept you and Ryan on the same adventure. He got off in the same town as you. You left the same day he did. Three coincidental incidents started the strange and sweet comradery between you both. Traveling was no longer a solo activity and you liked it.

Much to your disappointment, your ability to sing wasn’t on par to join in with Ryan’s street performances. But you sure could dance.

You’d dance alone or with anyone who wanted to join. It was exciting to let yourself go and enjoy life. You met so many fun souls. And the way Ryan smiled at you when your feet stilled made your knees weak. His eyes crinkling in the corners and showing every ounce of mirth he had in his body. His teeth on display even when he looked away from you. It was almost too much for you to handle. The first moment you met him, you thought he was handsome and each time you spoke to him – looked at him, too – only solidified that fact. He was special to you and the feeling grew.

Your face flushes every time he looks your way with an ounce of any emotion. You can’t help feeling at ease with the notes he produces whether from his lips or his guitar. 

The morning you woke up at your next stop, head propped on his shoulder, was the day you couldn’t meet his gaze for more than a few seconds at a time.

You fell hard for Ryan. He’s your home. Everything always feels right when he’s near. _You’re safe._

You gaze shifts to the man hidden in the darkness of the train car. You feel the urge to move to the tune he plays. Instead, you grab another animal cracker and look at the starry sky.

You can see so many stars without all the light pollution from big cities. The end of the Milky Way’s arm stretches across the sky, the center of the galaxy under the horizon during the winter months. The sky is even prettier in the summer.

The scuff of boots brings you attention to your travel buddy as he takes a seat next to you. You offer a cookie and Ryan takes one with a smile you can barely see.

Ryan takes off his ratty ball cap, setting it to the side to run his hand through his messy hair. The number of times you daydreamed about touching just a lock of that dark hair is embarrassingly high.

You grab another cookie to distract your thoughts.

“You doin’ okay?” Ryan asks.

You nod. “Always when we’re on a train. There’s something about it.” _You, Ryan. You on this train with me makes it all worth it._ “How are you doing?”

“Good.” He puts a cigarette in his mouth and lights it, letting you see the high points of his face for a second. “We should be close to the next switch. Tomorrow, I think. You gonna be ready?”

You scoff. “How long have we done this? I think I’ll be ready, Ryan.”

“Can’t blame me for worryin’.”

You don’t. Train hopping wasn’t a skill you had before meeting Ryan. Buses, kind drivers, and your own two feet were all you needed. But Ryan has a terrifying ability to make you do anything with a single look. You doubt he’s aware of it. He could tell you the Earth is flat and you’d second guess its spherical nature.

“I’m not worried. I have you to help me out, right?”

A breathy chuckle. “Yeah.” He taps your knee and puts his hat back on. “You might wanna pull your feet in. We’re passin’ through a town soon.”

You sigh. “Fine. I guess I will keep both of my legs for now.”

The remainder of his cigarette flies out of the train as he stands. “We don’t wanna get caught either.”

You stand, gathering what’s left of your snack. You stuff the box into your bag. “I guess we should hide for a while, huh?”

The train lurches, brakes squealing in protest.

Both of you lose balance, but he recovers faster to steady you.

The moment his hands grasp your waist, your eyes shoot up to Ryan’s face. He’s staring out of the car while your heart thrums in your chest. You can’t tell if it’s from the train or his hold. Your face burns.

Ryan studies you for a second before releasing you and peeking out of the train car. “This isn’t a stop.”

You swallow and fix your beanie. “And that means...?”

“We’ve gotta hide.” Ryan takes your hand and pulls you over to your bags.

With quick hands, you two stash your bags out of sight with no plans to hop off the train. Once hidden, the two of you huddle in a small cubby the crates of some unknown product created in the car. 

Your knees are pulled up to your chest and you do everything in your power to avoid looking toward Ryan.

He’s so close, squatting in front of you and keeping you boxed in so if a worker spots anyone it’ll be Ryan. 

His scent is everywhere and you feel so small tucked between him and the three barriers around you. You have to close your eyes and take deep breaths to calm your nerves.

“You all right?” His voice is a whisper.

You look at him hardly seeing the concern on his face and nod. “Yeah. I’m good.”

The rain finally comes to a full stop, Ryan swaying with it but staying upright. Both of you go quiet and listen.

You hear the faraway call of someone clearing a train car, the call repeating until it’s the next car away. It feels like an hour before the gentle crunch of pebbles sound outside the car you’re hiding in.

You freeze when a flashlight shines over your heads. The intense look in Ryan’s eyes causes your breath to hitch. He’s ready to give himself up if he has to, you can see it in his eyes. You love it and hate it all the same.

Whoever is searching the train shouts his confirmation that it’s clear, allowing you two to breathe a sigh of relief.

Ryan stands just enough to see over the stack of crates a moment before the cars shift to move forward once again. It causes Ryan to fall back on his ass and you to slide into him, sprawling over his legs. You smack his hands away when he tries to make sure you’re okay and you scoot back into the alcove with your knees back up to your chin.

“Sorry,” you murmur, holding yourself steady when the train starts moving again.

Ryan sits up. “S’not your fault. You hurt?”

“No.”

“Good.” Ryan leans against the wall of the train car, lifting his hat just to run his hand through his hair.

“Are you okay?” you ask, playing with the frayed cuffs of your hoodie poking out from under your coat sleeves. “Sounded like your ass took a beating.”

He chuckles. “My ass is fine.”

_Yes, it is._ Your face flushes. “Uh, good. Glad to know.”

“Tired?”

“I could sleep.”

“Warm enough?”

_If only you knew._ “Yeah.”

“You’re better off sleepin’ back here in case the train stops again. I can wake you up if anything happens.”

“Sure. Can I grab my bag for a pillow?”

Ryan straightens his legs as best he can. “Just use me. It’s not a good idea to spread out our things if they suspect someone’s ridin’.”

“I can’t use you as a pillow, Ryan,” you say.

“Why not?”

_Because I like you, doofus._ “What if you need to get up for something?”

Another chuckle. “Lie down, Y/N.”

So you do, your head resting comfortably on his lap. You face away from him in hopes to hide your face, forgetting that he can’t see it anyway. Sleeping against his shoulder is one thing. It doesn’t help when he rests his hand on your head.

You barely keep your heart rate under control, but you’re safe. And that alone is enough to bring you rest. 

* * *

It’s still dark when the train jolts you awake.

The first thing you notice is the humming Ryan is doing. It’s a favorite of yours. 

The second thing you notice is the fabric your face is pressed into. Sometime in your sleep, you turned over and hid your face in Ryan’s abdomen. The zipper of his coat is cold against your forehead. 

The last thing you notice is his hand. Your ear is nestled between his thumb and pointer finger, the former rubbing short tracks along your skin.

You take a deep breath and roll onto your back. You catch a glimpse of Ryan’s head resting back against the wall. He moves as soon as his hand settles against your neck. Goosebumps rise under his touch and you are very glad you forgot to put on your scarf.

“How long did I sleep?” You sit up and yawn, ignoring his hand falling in your lap.

He takes it back. “A few hours.”

You hum and stretch, leaning back against the wall beside your friend. You shoulders brush against each other. “Thanks, Ryan.”

A half-smile is sent your way. “It’s nothin’, Y/N.”

You nudge his shoulder. “Do you need to sleep?”

“Nah. Not tired.” Ryan stuffs his hands in his coat pockets. “You can sleep some more if you want.”

You let your head fall on his shoulder. You look up at him once he starts humming again. “I like that song.”

Ryan turns his head a fraction to let you see his amused smirk. “I know. It’s why I sing it.”

You blink. “Really? Because I like it?”

“Yeah.” His voice deepens just enough for you to notice.

“I like everything you sing though.”

“Yeah, but you move differently to it. Did you know that?”

You shake your head. “How is it different?”

He shrugs, moving your head with the gesture. “I think it’s because you feel free. You never take a partner when you start dancin’ to it. You look euphoric and it’s a good look for you. It’s pretty... You’re pretty.”

The air in that train car thins. _He thinks I’m pretty?_

“I sing it so you can dance.”

A passing light shines in enough for you to see Ryan’s heavy gaze on you.

You lift your head. “D-Do... Do you want me to dance right now?” It’s a miracle he can even hear you.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

You pull Ryan’s hand out of his coat and hold it in both of yours, blindly tracing over the tattoos on his fingers that you memorized months ago. “Another time then.”

Time stops the moment Ryan pulls his hand from yours and presses it against the side of your face. It’s so warm against your already hot skin. And the way his thumb traces the high point of your cheek, brushing against your lower eyelashes, puts your heart in your throat.

You know he’s looking at you because his breath fans over your face. If only there were more lights for you to see how dark his eyes are or the way his lips curve upward as he stares at what little he can see of your face.

_This is not happening. There is no way this is real. I’m dreaming. That’s it. I never woke up._ You grasp his coat to keep yourself upright, your body wanting to melt right there.

“I wanna kiss you, but I... it might be a bad idea,” he says softly.

_Shit. This is totally happening._ “W-Why is it a bad idea?” _Kiss me anyway, Brenner._

“I won’t wanna let you go.”

You seek out his hand still on your face and cover it with your own. “I plan on sticking by you for as long as you’re willing.” _Please, don’t let me go._

The rustling of his coat makes your stomach twist around itself. You can sense Ryan getting closer in the dark and oh how you wish you could see him clearly.

His nose bumps into yours, causing both of you to flinch and chuckle under your breaths. Using the tip of his nose, he runs it up from the corner of your mouth, over the apple of your cheek, and stops at the end of your nose.

Lips brush against yours and Ryan pulls away as if he’s still unsure to commit to it. But he comes back with a light touch. 

Your lips part when he pulls away a second time, a sound of protest coming through that makes him snicker. 

He kisses the corner of your mouth to tease you now.

_You’re going to kill me if I’m not already dead._

You lean closer in hopes of connecting again but find yourself hesitating. _What if I miss?_

Lucky for you, Ryan bridges the gap with the longest kiss so far – though it’s still too short for your liking. You have little time to dwell on it when he kisses you again with such force that the air in your lungs disappears. His hand tangles in your hair, your beanie falling off behind you.

_Fuck. Why didn’t we do this sooner?_ Both of your hands grasp at his hair after knocking away his hat. It’s as soft as you imagined despite not being washed for a day or two. You love it.

You change the angle of your head to deepen the kiss and to make a wild mess of his hair. You crave some sort of light just to see what he looks like after your hands hand their time in those dark locks.

Ryan pulls away first to catch his breath, your hands practically glued to his hair. He laughs and nuzzles his face into your neck after almost bumping your heads together.

More goosebumps rise at the touch of his breath and you sigh like some lovesick puppy. “Damn.”

Another bout of laughter comes from Ryan as he sits up again and leans back. Regretfully, you untangle your fingers from his hair.

“Yeah,” he says, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

You scoot closer to his side and place your head on his shoulder. “I think I lost your hat.”

He snorts. “It’s just a hat. I can find a new one.”

Your lips are still tingling when you press a quick kiss to Ryan’s cheek, his facial hair intensifying the feeling. “Sing the song, yeah?”

“Whatever you want, Y/N.”

You close your eyes as the first notes leave his mouth, the vibration of each note rocking you back into sleep.

The moment Ryan realizes you’re dreaming again, he hums the rest of the song while his fingers brush through your hair.

_I’m glad we met, Ryan Brenner._


End file.
